EY Scotland names new managing partner

EY has appointed a new managing partner for Scotland as it sets out an ambitious growth strategy to boost headcount north of the Border by 25 per cent within a year.

Ally Scott will take over from Mark Harvey as managing partner for EY in Scotland. Picture: Contributed

The Big Four accountancy group has promoted Ally Scott, head of transaction advisory services (TAS) in Scotland, to succeed incumbent managing partner Mark Harvey from 1 July.

Harvey will remain in the firm’s Glasgow office as a partner until April 2020, and is due to join Arnold Clark as chief financial officer later in the year. Since Harvey took on the leadership role in 2015, annual revenues have increased from £100 million to £170m.

Scott, who has previously worked at Barclays Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland, joined EY in September 2016. He has led the Scottish TAS practice to 15 per cent and 21 per cent growth in its last two financial years, helping secure deals for prominent clients such as Simon Howie Group, QTS Group and Weir Group.

The announcement comes as the group confirmed plans to increase headcount across its Scottish operations by 25 per cent to 1,250 staff in the next 12 months.

Scott said: “Under Mark’s leadership EY has enjoyed significant growth in Scotland, securing notable client wins across all service lines and investing in our product offering to support a broader range of businesses.

“Our ambition to increase headcount to 1,250 staff across all levels in the next 12 months is a strong signal of our intent to build on that momentum. It’s an exciting time to be part of our business.”